This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

281134Z Dec 05

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TEL AVIV 007079 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA 
HQ USAF FOR XOXX 
DA WASHDC FOR SASA 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA 
USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR 
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD 
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 
 
JERUSALEM ALSO FOR ICD 
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IS KMDR MEDIA REACTION REPORT
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
All leading media, except The Jerusalem Post, led with 
the firing from Lebanon of at least four Katyusha 
rockets at Israeli communities -- particularly Kiryat 
Shmona -- late last night.  Two houses were hit but 
there were no injuries.  Israel Radio reported that the 
IAF struck a PFLP training base south of Beirut and 
cited a PFLP spokesman as saying that two of its 
members were wounded in the raid.  The radio cited the 
IDF's belief that Palestinian groups in Lebanon are 
behind the attacks, and denials by Hizbullah, Fatah, 
and PFLP spokesmen in Lebanon of any responsibility for 
the rocket launchings. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Israel Radio reported that on 
Tuesday, State Department Spokesman J. Adam Ereli 
justified Israel's firing at the northern Gaza Strip 
areas from which rocket fire originated.  Both media 
quoted Ereli as saying: "What we would like to see is 
effective measures against such acts so that the 
measures Israel is taking are not necessary."   Ereli 
was also quoted as saying: "We see it [the Qassam 
rocket barrage] in the context of failure to address 
the security situation" by the Palestinians.  The 
station reported that Ereli regretted the creation of 
buffer zones in the Gaza Strip.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted Ereli as saying that Maj. Gen Keith Dayton, the 
new U.S. security specialist in the region, arrived in 
the area for talks with Israeli and PA officials. 
Israel Radio reported that A/S David Welch is due to 
arrive in the region ahead of the Palestinian 
legislative elections. 
 
The media reported that Qassam rockets were fired at 
Sderot on Tuesday.  Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, 
the IAF fired missiles at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades 
offices in the northern Gaza Strip and attacked a 
bridge near the Gaza town of Beit Hanun in response to 
ongoing Qassam rocket fire.  There were no injuries. 
Ha'aretz and other media cited the IDF as saying that 
the bridge had been used to reach the evacuated 
settlements of Elei Sinai, Dugit, and Nisanit and fire 
rockets toward Ashkelon.  Today, Israel Radio reported 
that Israel has informed the PA that anyone entering 
the buffer zone after 6:00 P.M. is putting his life in 
danger.  Hatzofe reported that on Tuesday, an 18-year- 
old Palestinian woman from Nablus, Nasrin Heshan, was 
injured when a bomb blew up in the city.  The bomb was 
reportedly meant to explode near IDF forces. Hatzofe 
quoted Palestinian sources as saying that terrorists 
had planted dozens of bombs all over the old city of 
Nablus as part of their preparations in anticipation of 
an Israeli operation in the city. 
 
All media (banner in The Jerusalem Post) quoted Mossad 
chief Meir Dagan, who testified before the Knesset's 
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, as 
warning that Iran will not stop at making a single 
nuclear bomb.  Dagan was quoted as saying that Iran 
will reach technological independence within a few 
months, after which producing a nuclear bomb will only 
be a matter of time. 
 
Leading media reported that this morning, former Shin 
Bet head Avi Dichter formally announced at a press 
conference that he is entering politics and joining 
Kadima.  The Ha'aretz web site quoted him as saying 
that he saw no possibility that Israel would be able to 
unilaterally set its borders with the Palestinians.  He 
was quoted as saying that the Roadmap was the central 
plan that will affect Israel's future steps, but that 
"it seems that there is still a long way to go."  Asked 
about the ramifications of the Gaza disengagement, 
Dichter, who the Ha'aretz web site writes has been 
widely credited with Israel's success in beating down 
terrorism., said: "The figures speak for themselves. 
The disengagement was followed by a sharp decline in 
the number of attacks."  Asked if he had been promised 
a position in a future government, Dichter said he had 
not discussed the issue with Sharon.  The media had 
speculated that Sharon could offer him the defense or 
internal security portfolio.  Yediot reported that 
Kadima will distribute financial bonuses to activists 
who bring voters to the party. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Labor Party Chairman Amir 
Peretz's diplomatic team is formulating a platform 
calling for the long-term leasing of large West Bank 
settlement blocs from the Palestinians, adopting the 
model of Great Britain and China with regard to Hong 
Kong.  The media also pointed to flaws in Peretz's 
electoral methods -- mostly his speaking solely about 
socio-economic issues, and also the fact that he spoke 
too pessimistically about Israel's future, and that he 
failed to keep former Labor Party Chairman Shimon Peres 
in the party, among other mistakes.  The Jerusalem Post 
quoted Peretz advisers who counted those failings. 
 
Ha'aretz quoted Datya Yitzhaki, a spokeswoman for the 
group Land of Israel Faithful, as saying that on 
Tuesday, hundreds of settler youths erected 14 illegal 
out posts in the West Bank as part of a campaign to 
show their strength after Israel's withdrawal from the 
Gaza Strip.  Yitzhaki was quoted as saying that a total 
of 25 new outposts, all of which would eventually 
become permanent communities, would be standing by the 
end of the Hanukkah holiday (January 1).  Yediot, 
Maariv, and Hatzofe also reported on this development. 
Maariv reported that on Tuesday, Amir Peretz criticized 
Sharon over the issue of illegal outposts. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Israel is seeking a solution 
that will permit East Jerusalem residents to vote in 
the elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council, 
but allow the government to adhere to its opposition to 
Hamas's participation in the ballot. The newspaper 
reported that Israel also wants a solution that will 
prevent the state from being accused of delaying the 
elections.  Ha'aretz quoted PM Sharon as saying on 
Monday, in a meeting with Amir Peretz, that "an 
arrangement will be found."  Ha'aretz wrote that Sharon 
refrained from elaborating. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday, veterans of the 
Fatah party threatened to break away from the movement 
and from a competing list of candidates for upcoming 
elections, sparking a new crisis for PA Chairman 
[President] Mahmoud Abbas. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Likud Chairman MK Binyamin 
Netanyahu is trying to reach a "quiet understanding" 
with Moshe Feiglin, the leader of the party's far right 
faction Jewish Leadership, so that he withdraws his 
candidacy for the Likud's Knesset list. 
 
Yediot reported that over the past few weeks, 1,000 
olive trees in Palestinian villages have been uprooted, 
supposedly by settlers.  The newspaper quoted Defense 
Minister as saying that if it is proven that Israelis 
are responsible for the phenomenon, the state will 
compensate the Palestinian farmers. 
 
Leading media reported that the Education Ministry is 
lowering its English-language requirements for 
matriculation exams in order to increase the number of 
university students. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "The fact that Israel is willing to 
live with a continuous drizzle of attacks in the south 
and the north is perceived in the Arab world as a sign 
of weakness, and only invites further attacks." 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized: 
"Israel is concerned -- and justifiably so -- about 
Hamas's participation in the PA elections, but imposing 
a ban on East Jerusalem's Arabs is not an appropriate 
response, because they must be allowed to exercise 
their right to vote." 
 
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in Maariv: "It 
has been proven that with 'partners' such as the 
Palestinians, unilateral withdrawals constitute a 
recipe for the continuation of war, because not only do 
evacuated territories not bring peace closer, but they 
turn into launching areas for lethal Qassam rockets." 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized: "The front-running Kadima Party of Prime 
Minister Sharon has a particular obligation to tell the 
citizenry its policy on E-1 and how it proposes to 
address Palestinian and international concerns over it. 
And those parties that oppose E-1 need to explain how 
they will nonetheless keep Jerusalem secure and vibrant 
and Ma'aleh Adumim accessible." 
Columnist and outgoing Meretz Knesset Member Yossi 
Sarid wrote in Ha'aretz: "In America, it occasionally 
happens that mistakes are admitted, apologies are 
offered, and even such responsibility is accepted and 
conclusions are drawn.  Not here." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
¶I.  "Because We Showed Restraint" 
 
Military correspondent Amir Rappaport wrote in popular, 
pluralist Maariv (December 28): "Israel, which 
responded with a great deal of restraint to a long list 
of attacks waged against it lately, has, by so doing, 
been sending a message of weakness.... Had the Israeli 
response to Hizbullah's attack in early December on a 
number of targets along the northern border been firm 
and aimed at targets in the general Beirut area, 
Katyusha rockets would probably not have landed last 
night in the heart of Kiryat Shmona.  Had Israel broken 
the rules of the game and responded with real severity 
to the Qassam rocket fire out of the Gaza Strip -- and 
not made do with dropping leaflets, manufacturing sonic 
booms and deliberately shelling nothing -- the folks 
firing the Qassam rockets out of Gaza would probably 
have not dared continue to do so.  The fact that Israel 
is willing to live with a continuous drizzle of attacks 
in the south and the north is perceived in the Arab 
world as a sign of weakness, and only invites further 
attacks.  Israel has to reach the stage at which it 
makes good on its threats.  Otherwise the IDF's power 
of deterrence will be completely eroded.  Perhaps the 
time has arrived for Israel to take a proactive 
approach of checked escalation in order to put an end 
to the intolerable attacks on it." 
 
II.  "Let Them Vote" 
 
Independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz editorialized 
(December 28): "Israel must let East Jerusalem's Arabs 
vote in the Palestinian Authority's legislative council 
(parliament) elections.  That is not only because it 
undertook to do so in the Oslo Accords, but also 
because it does not want them as citizens of the state, 
and because it is the only way for the city's 250,000 
Arabs to exercise their right to political 
expression.... There is no reason to change election 
arrangements in East Jerusalem.  Israel is concerned -- 
and justifiably so -- about Hamas's participation in 
the PA elections, but imposing a ban on East 
Jerusalem's Arabs is not an appropriate response, 
because they must be allowed to exercise their right to 
vote." 
 
III.  "Unilateralism Is Doomed to Failure" 
 
Conservative columnist Yosef Harif wrote in Maariv 
(December 28): "When the Prime Minister first exposed 
his unilateral withdrawal plan from Gush Katif and 
several northern West Bank settlements, he conveyed a 
double message: his step would strengthen security and 
bring peace closer.  It appears that both messages were 
baseless.  On Monday, Maariv published a version of 
Kadima's diplomatic platform, in which [Sharon's party] 
commits itself to act in every possible way to promote 
the peace process and to lay the foundations for 
shaping Israel's final borders.  Indeed, it's 
worthwhile to act in every possible way for the sake of 
peace, except one -- unilateralism.  The lessons drawn 
from the disengagement from Gaza make necessary a 
cautious and meticulous approach, should the time come 
for discussions about the fate of Judea and Samaria 
[i.e. the West Bank].  It has been proven that with 
'partners' such as the Palestinians, unilateral 
withdrawals constitute a recipe for the continuation of 
war, because not only do evacuated territories not 
bring peace closer, but they turn into launching areas 
for lethal Qassam rockets." 
 
IV.  "Jerusalem's Dilemma" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post 
editorialized (December 28): "Israel's urban planners 
have tended to stress short-term considerations at the 
expense of long term environmental and historical 
treasures.  Now, Jerusalem is faced with a decision: 
whether to expand the capital's limits westward toward 
the forest and the [western] suburbs ... or eastward, 
over the Green Line, toward the settlement city of 
Ma'aleh Adumim....  American and European Union 
pressure has to date dissuaded a succession of Israeli 
governments, including that of Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon, from going ahead with linking Jerusalem to 
Ma'aleh Adumim.  Opponents of E-1 argue that it would 
torpedo prospects for a viable Palestinian state by 
making it impossible for Palestinians to travel from 
Bethlehem to Ramallah.  But surely a solution that 
allows Palestinians a north-south transit, while 
linking nearby Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem, is hardly 
beyond the creative capabilities of diplomats and 
transportation planners.... The front-running Kadima 
Party of Prime Minister Sharon has a particular 
obligation to tell the citizenry its policy on E-1 and 
how it proposes to address Palestinian and 
international concerns over it.  And those parties that 
oppose E-1 need to explain how they will nonetheless 
keep Jerusalem secure and vibrant and Ma'aleh Adumim 
accessible." 
 
¶V.  "At Least the U.S. Admits Its Mistakes" 
 
Columnist and outgoing Meretz Knesset Member Yossi 
Sarid wrote in independent, left-leaning Ha'aretz 
(December 28): "Despite the similarity between the 
Israeli and American intelligence communities, there is 
a difference, nevertheless: in America, it occasionally 
happens that mistakes are admitted, apologies are 
offered, and even such responsibility is accepted and 
conclusions are drawn.  Not here.  They drove an entire 
country crazy, they frayed its nerves, put it into a 
state of hysteria, complete with gas masks and masking 
tape, and no one bothered to apologize to us.  [Former 
CIA Director George] Tenet left, and [senior Israeli 
defense official] Amos Gilad stayed, and continues to 
explain 'the situation' to us.  Gilad is but one 
example among many.  Will we be willing to buy a second 
evaluation from the same people who sold us the Iraq 
rattletrap?" 
 
-------------------------- 
¶2.  Iran: Nuclear Program: 
-------------------------- 
 
                       Summary: 
                       -------- 
 
Ultra-Orthodox Hamodi'a editorialized: "Isolated 
American activity against Iran isn't enough." 
 
                     Block Quotes: 
                     ------------- 
 
"The Iranian Threat" 
 
Ultra-Orthodox Hamodi'a editorialized (December 28): 
"Uniting forces in the international arena against the 
Iranian threat could greatly contribute to thwarting 
that crafty scheme.  Iran still has something to lose 
from a union of the world's nations against it. 
Isolated American activity against Iran isn't enough. 
A European front must also be set up, because European 
states also stand to suffer if the Iranians reach 
nuclear capability.... Every possible effort should be 
applied on Russia so that it stops contributing from 
its experience and capability to the Iranian reactor." 
 
CRETZ